Section 20-385
§ 20-385 Legislative declaration. It is the purpose of the city
council in enacting this subchapter to safeguard and protect the
homeowner against abuses and fraudulent practices by licensing persons
engaged in the home improvement, remodeling and repair business.
Section 20-386
§ 20-386 Definitions. 1. "Persons" means an individual, firm, company,
salesperson, partnership or corporation, trade group or association.
2. "Home improvement" means the construction, repair, replacement,
remodeling, alteration, conversion, rehabilitation, renovation,
modernization, improvement, or addition to any land or building, or that
portion thereof which is used or designed to be used as a residence or
dwelling place and shall include but not be limited to the construction,
erection, replacement, or improvement of driveways, swimming pools,
terraces, patios, landscaping, fences, porches, garages, fallout
shelters, basements, and other improvements to structures or upon land
which is adjacent to a dwelling house. "Home improvement" shall not
include (i) the construction of a new home or building or work done by a
contractor in compliance with a guarantee of completion of a new
building project, (ii) the sale of goods or materials by a seller who
neither arranges to perform nor performs directly or indirectly any work
or labor in connection with the installation of or application of the
goods or materials, (iii) residences owned by or controlled by the state
or any municipal subdivision thereof, or (iv) painting or decorating of
a building, residence, home or apartment, when not incidental or related
to home improvement work as herein defined. Without regard to the extent
of affixation, "home improvement" shall also include the installation of
central heating or air conditioning systems, central vacuum cleaning
systems, storm windows, awnings or communication systems.
3. "Building" means any structure containing no more than four
residences or dwelling units.
4. "Owner" means any homeowner, cooperative shareholder, condominium
unit owner, tenant, or any other person who orders, contracts for or
purchases the home improvement services of a contractor or the person
entitled to the performance of the work of a contractor pursuant to a
home improvement contract.
5. "Contractor" means any person or salesperson, other than a bona
fide employee of the owner, who owns, operates, maintains, conducts,
controls or transacts a home improvement business and who undertakes or
offers to undertake or agrees to perform any home improvement or
solicits any contract therefor, whether or not such person is licensed
or subject to the licensing requirements of this subchapter, and whether
or not such person is a prime contractor or subcontractor with respect
to the owner.
6. "Home improvement contract" means an agreement, whether oral or
written, or contained in one or more documents, between a contractor and
an owner , or contractor and a tenant, regardless of the number of
residences or dwelling units contained in the building in which the
tenant resides, provided said work is to be performed in, to or upon the
residence or dwelling unit of such tenant, for the performance of a home
improvement and includes all labor, services and materials to be
furnished and performed thereunder.
7. "Licensee" means a person permitted to engage in the home
improvement business under the provisions of this subchapter.
8. "Home improvement establishment" means any shop, establishment,
place or premises where the home improvement business is transacted or
carried on.
9. "Salesperson" means any individual who negotiates or offers to
negotiate a home improvement contract with an owner, or solicits or
otherwise endeavors to procure in person a home improvement contract
from an owner on behalf of a contractor, or for himself or herself
should the salesperson be also the contractor, whether or not such
person is licensed or subject to the licensing requirements of this
subchapter.
Section 20-387
§ 20-387 License required. (a) No person shall solicit, canvass, sell,
perform or obtain a home improvement contract as a contractor or
salesperson from an owner without a license therefor.
(b) A license issued pursuant to this subchapter may not be construed
to authorize the licensee to perform any particular type of work or
engage in any kind of business which is reserved to qualified licensees
under separate provisions of state or local law, nor shall any license
or authority other than that which is issued or permitted pursuant to
this subchapter authorize engaging in the home improvement business.
Section 20-388
§ 20-388 Fees; term. 1. The fee for a license to conduct a home
improvement business shall be fifty dollars and for each renewal thereof
the fee shall be fifty dollars.
The fee for a salesperson's license employed by a home improvement
contractor shall be twenty-five dollars and for each renewal thereof the
fee shall be twenty-five dollars.
2. The fee for issuing a duplicate license or for one lost, destroyed
or mutilated shall be ten dollars.
Section 20-389
§ 20-389 License not assignable; posting required; removal. a. No
license shall be assignable or transferable.
b. A license issued hereunder shall at all times be posted in a
conspicuous place in the place of the licensee.
c. Every licensee shall within ten days after a change of control in
ownership, or of management, or of change of address or trade name
notify the commissioner of each change.
d. A duplicate license may be issued for one lost or mutilated and
shall bear the word "duplicate" stamped across its face.
e. Commissioner's powers. In addition to the powers and duties
elsewhere prescribed in this subchapter, the commissioner shall have
power:
(1) To appoint an adequate number of assistants, inspectors and other
employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
subchapter, to prescribe their duties, and to fix their compensation
within the amount appropriated therefor;
(2) To examine the qualifications and fitness of applicants for
licenses under this subchapter;
(3) To keep record of all licenses issued, suspended or revoked;
(4) At any time to require reasonable information of an applicant or
licensee, and may require the production of books of accounts, financial
statements, contracts or other records which relate to the home
improvement activity, qualification or compliance with this subchapter
by the licensee provided, however, that said information and production
of records is required of him or her pursuant to its regular business
and functions under this subchapter.
Section 20-390
§ 20-390 Application; fingerprinting. 1. An application for a license
or renewal thereof shall be made to the commissioner on a form
prescribed by him or her.
2. A separate license shall be required for each place of business.
3. The application shall be filed only by the actual owner of a
business, shall be in writing, signed and under oath; it shall contain
the office address of the business; the name and residence address of
the owner or partner and if a corporation, trade group or association,
the names and resident addresses of the directors and principal
officers.
4. The commissioner may require the names and residence addresses of
any employees of an applicant, in addition to any other information
which he or she may deem advisable.
5. Each applicant shall be over eighteen years of age and of good
character.
6. The commissioner shall require that applicants for licenses issued
pursuant to this subchapter be fingerprinted for the purpose of securing
criminal history records from the state division of criminal justice
services. The applicant shall pay a processing fee as required by the
state division of criminal justice services. Fingerprints shall be taken
of the individual owner if the applicant is a sole proprietorship; the
general partners if the applicant is a partnership; and the officers,
principals, directors, and stockholders owning more than ten percent of
the outstanding stock of the corporation if the applicant is a
corporation. Any person required to be fingerprinted hereunder shall
furnish to the department three current passport-sized photographs of
such person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the commissioner need not
require applicants for licenses required under this subchapter to be
fingerprinted if criminal history records concerning such applicants are
not available from the state division of criminal justice services.
7. Each application for a license to solicit, canvass, sell, perform
or obtain a home improvement contract as a contractor from an owner, or
for renewal thereof, filed on or after the effective date of the local
law which added this subdivision shall contain such information
prescribed by the commissioner as sufficient to verify the applicant's
compliance with the requirements specified in subdivision four of
section seventy-one-a of the lien law.
Section 20-391
§ 20-391 Rules and regulations. The commissioner may make such rules
and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter,
as may be necessary with respect to the form and content of applications
for licenses, the reception thereof, the investigation and examination
of applicants and their qualifications, and the other matters incidental
or appropriate to his or her powers and duties as prescribed by this
subchapter and for the proper administration and enforcement of the
provisions of this subchapter, and to amend or repeal any such rules and
regulations.
Section 20-392
§ 20-392 Fines; issuance, renewal, suspension and revocation of
license. a. The commissioner shall have the power to impose a fine not
to exceed one thousand dollars upon a licensee and/or suspend or revoke
a license or deny an application for the issuance or renewal of a
license for any one or more of the following causes:
1. Fraud, misrepresentation, or bribery in securing a license.
2. The making of any false statement as to a material matter in any
application for a license.
3. The person or the management personnel of the contractor are
untrustworthy or not of good character.
4. The business transactions of the contractor have been or are marked
by a practice of failure to timely perform or complete its contracts, or
the manipulation of assets or accounts, or by fraud or bad faith, or is
marked by an unwholesome method or practice of solicitation of business
from owners.
5. Failure to display the license as provided in this subchapter.
6. Failure to comply with any demand or requirement lawfully made by
the commissioner.
7. When an agent or employee of a licensee has been guilty of an act
of omission, fraud, or misrepresentation and the licensee has approved
or had knowledge thereof.
8. Violation of any provision of this subchapter or any rule or
regulation adopted hereunder or for performing or attempting to perform
any act prohibited by this subchapter.
9. Violation of any provision of subchapters one, two or three of
title twenty-six or subchapter one of title twenty-seven of this code,
or any rule adopted thereunder or for performing or attempting to
perform any act prohibited by such subchapters, provided that the
commissioner shall suspend or revoke the license of any licensee who
continues to work in violation of a stop-work notice or order issued
pursuant to section 26-118 of this code.
b. In addition to any of the powers that may be exercised by the
commissioner pursuant to this subchapter and chapter one of this title,
the commissioner, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, may
refuse to issue or renew, or may suspend or revoke, a license required
under this subchapter if the applicant or licensee, or any of its
principals, officers or directors, or any of its stockholders owning
more than ten percent of the outstanding stock of the corporation has
been convicted of a crime which, in the judgment of the commissioner,
has a direct relationship to such person's fitness or ability to perform
any of the activities for which a license is required under this
subchapter or has been convicted of any other crime which, in accordance
with article twenty-three-a of the correction law, would provide a
justification for the commissioner to refuse to issue or renew, or to
suspend or revoke, such license.
Section 20-393
§ 20-393 Prohibited acts. The following acts are prohibited:
1. Deviation from or disregard of the plans or specifications or any
terms and conditions agreed to under a home improvement contract in any
material respect without the written consent of the owner;
2. Making any substantial misrepresentation in the solicitation or
procurement of a home improvement contract, or making any false promise
of character likely to influence, persuade or induce;
3. Any fraud in the execution of, or in the material alteration of,
any contract, mortgage, promissory note or other document incident to a
home improvement transaction;
4. Acting as an agent for any owner or any finance or mortgage company
to arrange for or to obtain an extension of credit which is used to pay
for an owner's obligations under a home improvement contract, unless the
instrument evidencing such owner's indebtedness complies with
subdivision b of section 433.2 of title sixteen of the code of federal
regulations and the licensee complies with section 771-a of the general
business law;
5. Directly or indirectly publishing any advertisement relating to
home improvements which contains an assertion, representation or
statement of fact which is false, deceptive, or misleading, provided
that any advertisement which is subject to and complies with the then
existing rules, regulations or guides of the federal trade commission
shall not be deemed false, deceptive or misleading; or by any means
advertising or purporting to offer the general public any home
improvement work with the intent not to accept contracts for the
particular work or at the price which is advertised or offered to the
public;
6. Wilful or deliberate disregard and violation of the building,
sanitary, fire and health laws of this city;
7. Failure to notify the commissioner of any change or control in
ownership, management or business name or location;
8. Conducting a home improvement business in any name other than the
one in which the contractor is licensed;
9. Wilful failure to comply with any order, demand, rule, regulation
or requirement made by the commissioner pursuant to provisions of this
subchapter;
10. As part of or in connection with the inducement to make a home
improvement contract, no person shall promise or offer to pay credit, or
allow to a buyer any compensation or reward for the procurement of a
home improvement contract with others;
11. Failing to perform work under a home improvement contract in a
skillful and competent manner;
12. Procuring a certificate of completion from an owner prior to the
actual completion of performance by the contractor under a home
improvement contract;
13. Including any provision or clause in a home improvement contract
whereby the owner waives or is barred from asserting any rights, claims,
defenses or remedies available to an owner under this subchapter or any
rules promulgated pursuant thereto;
14. Failing to comply with subdivision four of section seventy-one-a
of the lien law;
15. a. No salesperson may concurrently represent more than one
contractor in the solicitation or negotiation of any one home
improvement contract from an owner. The use of a contract form which
fails to disclose a named contractor principal, whether for the purpose
of offering the contract to various contractors other than the one the
salesperson purported to represent in negotiation or otherwise, is
prohibited. No salesperson may be authorized to select a prime
contractor on behalf of the owner.
b. No salesperson shall accept or pay any compensation of any kind,
for or on account of a home improvement transaction, from or for any
person other than the contractor whom he or she represents with respect
to the transaction.
16. a. As a part of or in connection with the inducement to enter any
home improvement contract, no person shall promise or offer to pay,
credit, or allow to any owner, compensation or reward for the
procurement or placing of home improvements business with others.
b. No contractor or salesperson shall offer, deliver, pay, credit or
allow to the owner any gift, bonus award or merchandise, trading stamps,
or cash loan as an inducement to enter a home improvement contract.
c. A contractor or salesperson may give tangible items to prospective
customers for advertising or sales promotion purposes where the gift is
not conditioned upon obtaining a contract for home improvement work;
provided no such item shall exceed a cost value of two dollars and fifty
cents and no owner and/or other person shall receive more than one such
item in connection with any one transaction.
17. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, no person
licensed under this subchapter shall, in connection with any home repair
or home improvement, act as an agent for, or advertise, promote or
arrange for the services of a lender or its affiliate to secure a home
loan or a home improvement loan for or on behalf of an owner.
18. No contractor shall receive payment from the proceeds of a home
improvement loan except by an instrument payable solely to the borrower
or at the election of the borrower, through a third party escrow agent
in accordance with terms established in a written agreement signed by
the borrower, the lender and the contractor prior to disbursement.
Section 20-394
§ 20-394 Waiver. No acts, agreements or statements of an owner under a
home improvement contract shall constitute a waiver of any provisions of
this subchapter intended for the benefit or protection of the owner.
Section 20-394.1
§ 20-394.1 Right of owner to cancel. A licensee shall furnish a notice
to the owner that, in addition to any other right to revoke an offer,
the owner may cancel a home improvement contract until midnight of the
third business day after the day on which the owner has signed an
agreement or offer to purchase relating to such contract or until
midnight of the third business day after the day on which the owner
receives the notice of his or her right to cancel, whichever occurs
later. Cancellation occurs when written notice of cancellation is given
to the home improvement contractor. Notice of cancellation, if given by
mail, shall be deemed given when deposited in a mailbox properly
addressed and postage prepaid. Notice of cancellation shall be
sufficient if it indicates the intention of the owner not to be bound by
such home improvement contract or offer to purchase relating to such
contract. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this paragraph shall not apply
to a transaction in which the owner has initiated the contact and the
home improvement is needed to meet a bona fide emergency of the owner,
and the owner furnishes the home improvement contractor with a separate
dated and signed personal statement in the owner's handwriting
describing the situation requiring immediate remedy and expressly
acknowledging and waiving the right to cancel the home improvement
contract within three business days.
Section 20-395
§ 20-395 Duty to furnish estimate. A home improvement contractor or
any salesperson, employee or agent of such contractor shall
affirmatively disclose that an estimate in writing of the materials and
labor necessary for a specific home improvement job is available to any
consumer. Upon request, such contractor shall make and furnish to the
consumer such estimate. A reasonable fee may be charged for the
estimate, which fee shall be disclosed to the consumer prior to the
furnishing of the estimate and shall be itemized and reflected in the
total estimated contract price.
Section 20-396
§ 20-396 False or fraudulent representation; damages. a. Any
contractor, canvasser or seller of home improvements who shall knowingly
make any false or fraudulent representations or statements or who makes
or causes any such statements to be made in respect to the character of
any sale, or the party authorizing the same, or as to the quality,
condition, or value of any property offered by him or her for sale,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding one year or by a fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars.
b. Any person who is induced to contract for home improvements in
reliance on false or fraudulent representations or statements knowingly
made, may sue and recover from such home improvement contractor or
solicitor a penalty of five hundred dollars in addition to any damages
sustained by him or her by reason of such statements or representations
made by the contractor or by his or her agents or employees.
Section 20-397
§ 20-397 Exceptions. No contractor's license shall be required in the
following instances:
1. An individual who performs labor or services for a contractor for
wages or salary.
2. A plumber, electrician, architect, professional engineer, or any
other such person who is required by state or city law to attain
standards of competency or experience as a prerequisite to engaging in
such craft or profession, or any person required to be licensed pursuant
to article six-D of the general business law to engage in the business
of installing, servicing, or maintaining security or fire alarm systems,
and who is acting exclusively within the scope of the craft, profession
or business for which he or she is currently licensed pursuant to such
other law.
3. Any retail clerk, clerical, administrative, or other employee of a
licensed contractor, as to a transaction on the premises of the
contractor.
4. This subchapter shall not apply to or affect the validity of a home
improvement contract otherwise within the purview of this subchapter
which is made prior to October first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight.
5. Any home improvement, where the aggregate contract price for all
labor materials and other items is less than two hundred dollars. This
exemption does not apply where the work is only part of a larger or
major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different
contractor, or in which a division of the operation is made in contracts
of amounts less than two hundred dollars for the purpose of evasion of
this provision or otherwise.
Section 20-398
§ 20-398 Power to investigate. If the commissioner upon reasonable
cause should believe that any licensee or any other person has violated
any of the provisions of this subchapter or any other law, relating to a
home improvement business, he or she shall have the power to make such
investigation as he or she shall deem necessary, and to the extent
necessary for this purpose, he or she may examine such licensee or any
other persons and shall have the power to compel the production of all
relevant books, records, accounts, documents or other records.
Section 20-399
§ 20-399 Hearings on charges; decision. No license shall be suspended
or revoked nor fine imposed until after a hearing had before an officer
or employee of the department designated for such purpose by the
commissioner upon notice to the licensee of at least ten days. The
notice shall be served either personally or by first-class mail to the
licensee at his or her last known address and shall state the date and
place of the hearing and set forth the ground or grounds constituting
the charges against the licensee. The licensee shall be heard in his or
her defense either in person or by counsel and may produce witnesses and
testify in his or her behalf. A stenographic or electronic record of the
hearing shall be made and preserved. The hearing may be adjourned from
time to time. The person conducting the hearing shall make a written
report of his or her findings and a recommendation to the commissioner
for a decision. The commissioner shall review such findings and the
recommendation and, after due deliberation, shall issue an order
accepting, modifying or rejecting such recommendation and dismissing the
charges or suspending or revoking the license. For the purpose of this
subchapter, the commissioner or any officer or employee of the
department designated by him or her may administer oaths, take
testimony, subpoena witnesses and compel the production of books,
papers, records and documents deemed pertinent to the subject of
investigation.
Section 20-400
§ 20-400 Judicial review. The action of the commissioner in
suspending, revoking or refusing to issue or renew a license may be
reviewed by a proceeding brought under and pursuant to article
seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
Section 20-401
§ 20-401 Violations and penalties. 1. a. Any person who shall own,
conduct or operate a home improvement business without a license
therefor or who shall knowingly violate any of the provisions of this
subchapter or any rules promulgated thereunder, with the exception of
violations referred to in section 20-396 of this subchapter, or having
had his or her license suspended or revoked shall continue to engage in
such business, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction,
shall be punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by
a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or both such fine and
imprisonment, and each such violation shall be deemed a separate
offense.
b. In addition to the penalties provided by paragraph a of this
subdivision and those provided by sections 20-105 and 20-106 of chapter
one of this title, any person who violates any of the provisions of this
subchapter shall be liable for a penalty of not more than one thousand
dollars for each such violation.
2. The corporation counsel may bring an action in the name of the city
to restrain or prevent any violation of this subchapter or any
continuance of any such violation.
3. Where any violation of this subchapter is found to be willful or
where such violation has posed a threat to the health or safety of the
owner, the commissioner may order the contractor to pay to the owner an
amount which shall not exceed three times the actual amount of any
damages sustained by the owner as a result of such violations.
Section 20-401.1
§ 20-401.1 Violations for operating without a license; seizure;
forfeiture. a. 1. For purposes of this section, the term "owner" shall
mean an owner as defined in section one hundred twenty-eight and in
subdivision three of section three hundred eighty-eight of the vehicle
and traffic law.
2. For purposes of this section, the term "security interest" shall
mean a security interest as defined in subdivision k of section two
thousand one hundred one of the vehicle and traffic law.
3. For purposes of this section, the term "unlicensed activity" shall
mean the conduct of any activity for which a license is required
pursuant to subdivision a of section 20-387 of this subchapter, without
such license.
b. Any police officer or authorized officer or employee of the
department, upon service on the owner or operator of a vehicle of a
notice of violation for engaging in unlicensed activity, may seize a
vehicle which such police officer or authorized officer or employee has
reasonable cause to believe is being used in connection with such
violation. Any vehicle seized pursuant to this subdivision shall be
delivered into the custody of the department or other appropriate
agency. The commissioner shall hold a hearing to adjudicate the
violation underlying the seizure within five business days after the
date of seizure and shall render his or her determination within three
business days after the conclusion of the hearing. Such determination
shall also include a finding as to whether or not such vehicle was used
in connection with such violation.
c. An owner may obtain release of a vehicle seized pursuant to
subdivision b of this section prior to the hearing provided for in such
subdivision, if such owner has not previously been found to have engaged
in unlicensed activity within a five-year period prior to the violation
resulting in such seizure. The vehicle shall be released to an eligible
owner upon the posting of an all cash bond in a form satisfactory to the
commissioner in an amount sufficient to cover the maximum fines or civil
penalties which may be imposed for the violation underlying the seizure
and all reasonable costs for removal and storage of such vehicle.
d. After adjudication of the violation underlying the seizure, if the
commissioner finds that the vehicle has not been used in connection with
unlicensed activity, the department shall promptly release such vehicle
upon written demand of its owner.
e. After adjudication of the violation underlying the seizure, if the
commissioner finds that the vehicle has been used in connection with
unlicensed activity then: (i) if the vehicle is not subject to
forfeiture pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision g of this section,
the department shall release such vehicle to an owner upon payment of
all applicable fines and civil penalties and all reasonable costs of
removal and storage; or (ii) if the vehicle is subject to forfeiture
pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision g of this section, the
department may release such vehicle to an owner upon payment of all
applicable fines and civil penalties and all reasonable costs of removal
and storage, or may commence a forfeiture action within ten days after
the owner's written demand for such vehicle.
f. Any vehicle that has not been claimed by the owner within ten days
after adjudication by the commissioner of the violation underlying the
seizure shall be deemed by the department to be abandoned. Such vehicle
shall be disposed of by the department pursuant to section twelve
hundred twenty-four of the vehicle and traffic law.
g. 1. In addition to any other fine, penalty or sanction provided for
in section 20-401 of this code, a vehicle seized pursuant to subdivision
b of this section, and all rights, title and interest therein shall be
subject to forfeiture to the city upon notice and judicial determination
thereof if the owner of such vehicle has been found liable at least two
times within a five-year period for engaging in unlicensed activity, and
each of those determinations have included findings that a vehicle was
used in connection with such violations.
2. A forfeiture action pursuant to this subdivision shall be commenced
by the filing of a summons with a notice or a summons and complaint in
accordance with the civil practice law and rules. Such summons with
notice or a summons and complaint shall be served in accordance with the
civil practice law and rules on all owners of the subject vehicle listed
in the records maintained by the department of motor vehicles, or for
vehicles not registered in the state of New York, in the records
maintained by the state of registration. A vehicle which is the subject
of such action shall remain in the custody of the department or other
appropriate agency pending the final determination of the forfeiture
action.
3. Notice of the institution of the forfeiture action shall be given
by first-class mail to all persons holding a security interest in such
vehicle, if such security interest has been filed with the department of
motor vehicles pursuant to the provisions of title ten of the vehicle
and traffic law, at the address set forth in the records of such
department, or for vehicles not registered in the state of New York, all
persons holding a security interest in such vehicle if such security
interest has been filed with the state of registration and which persons
are made known by such state to the department, at the address provided
by such state of registration.
4. Any owner who receives notice of the institution of a forfeiture
action who claims an interest in the vehicle subject to forfeiture may
assert a claim in such action for the recovery of the vehicle or
satisfaction of the owner's interest in such vehicle. Any person with a
security interest in such vehicle who receives notice of the institution
of the forfeiture action who claims an interest in such vehicle subject
to forfeiture may assert a claim in such action for satisfaction of such
person's security interest in such vehicle.
5. Forfeiture pursuant to this subdivision shall be made subject to
the interest of a person who claims an interest in the vehicle pursuant
to paragraph four of this subdivision, where such person establishes
that: (i) the use of the vehicle for the conduct that was the basis for
the seizure of the vehicle occurred without the knowledge of such
person, or if such person had knowledge of such use, that such person
did not consent to such use by doing all that could reasonably have been
done to prevent such use, and that such person did not knowingly obtain
such interest in the vehicle in order to avoid the forfeiture of such
vehicle, or (ii) that the conduct that was the basis for such seizure
was committed by any person other than such person claiming an interest
in the vehicle, while such vehicle was unlawfully in the possession of a
person who acquired possession thereof in violation of the criminal laws
of the United States or any state.
6. The department or agency having custody of the vehicle, after
judicial determination of forfeiture, shall, at its discretion, either
(i) retain such vehicle for the official use of the city; or (ii) by
public notice of at least five days, sell such forfeited vehicle at
public sale. The net proceeds of any such sale shall be paid into the
general fund of the city.
7. In any forfeiture action commenced pursuant to this subdivision,
where the court awards a sum of money to one or more persons in
satisfaction of such person's interest in the forfeited vehicle, the
total amount awarded to satisfy such interest or interests shall not
exceed the amount of the net proceeds of the sale of the forfeited
vehicle after deduction of the lawful expenses incurred by the city,
including reasonable costs of removal and storage of the vehicle between
the time of seizure and the date of sale.
Section 20-402
§ 20-402 Official acts used as evidence. The official acts of the
commissioner and the department shall be prima facie evidence of the
facts therein and shall be entitled to be received in evidence in all
actions at law and other legal proceedings in any court or before any
agency, board, body or officer.
Section 20-402.1
§ 20-402.1 Education and outreach. The department shall instruct and
conduct public education on the consumer protection provisions of this
subchapter, and the necessary licenses and permits that home improvement
contractors must obtain to perform certain types of home improvement
work, including but not limited to plumbing work, electrical work and
the raising, lifting, elevating or moving of a home or building. Such
instruction and public education shall be provided to home improvement
contractors, homeowners and members of the public at least semiannually.